AT&T slapped with $17 million jury award

AT&T Inc. — the phone giant so recently headquartered here — has been ordered by a Kansas jury to pay almost $17 million for overcharging its California customers when it passed along a federally mandated phone fee.

Jurors, however, didn’t find AT&T guilty of illegally conspiring with other providers, including Sprint Nextel Corp., when it collected Universal Service Fund fees. The case consolidated dozens of class-action lawsuits filed around the country that concerned the phone tax.

The USF is a fee phone companies collect to cover the cost of offering service in sparsely populated areas.

Sprint agreed in September to settle its involvement in the case for $30 million. AT&T, we’re guessing, will appeal.